Genie Creative designed, produced and installed a range of public information stands for The Environment Agency and Don Catchment Rivers Trust to highlight their work on the River Don.
Background
Tighter environmental regulation and investment in water quality by the water companies has resulted in river water being of a quality sufficient to support all river life. This includes migratory fish, particularly Salmon, but they cannot return to historic upstream spawning gravels because weirs obstruct the free passage of fish along the river. Don Catchment Rivers Trust (DCRT) and The Environment Agency (EA) have recently completed a series of major works on the river with the goal of returning Salmon to Sheffield for the first time in 200 years.
A “joined up” solution
The EA and DCRT have recently completed major works on the River Don to remove obstacles to fish passage in order to help reconnect isolated river habitats. The work includes the installation of fish passes and easements on weirs and, in some cases, part removal of abandoned weirs to allow fish to move more freely.
Having worked with DCRT on their first major project at Hadfield Weir (Meadowhall shopping centre) and The EA on a similar projectc at Sprotbrough Falls, we were commissioned to design and produce a range of public information stands to support their work at these locations along the River Don.
In order to sucessfully deliver a consistent solution across the range of sites we had to take into consideration multiple factors including;
- the need to work within the brand sytles of both DCRT and EA
- the need to build on the legacy of the previous installations
- the diversity of information relating to the fish passage solution at each site
- the need to design solutions that work in isolation and as part of a range along the River Don
- the need to provide a flexible solution in order to work within listed status sites – such as the fish easements at Lady’s Bridge, and
- the diversity of production required for specific sites
We acheived this by working closely with our clients to understand the requirements for each site and offering solutions that met them within an agreed timeframe and budget.
A site visit was undertaken to establish the best solution for each location. This was followed up by a detailed proposal covering production model, cost and timescale. Upon approval of the proposal we designed each graphic panel within the established graphic and typographic style.
At each stage of the design process we liaised with our client to ensure the design was engaging and the content accurate. Once the designs were approved we project-managed the production process and (where required) installation to ensure a consistent and high quality product and that deadlines were met.
The images below give an overview of the work delivered at four locations.
